Daily News Online
  Ad Space Available Here  

Wednesday, 26 September 2012

Home

 | SHARE MARKET  | EXCHANGE RATE  | TRADING  | OTHER PUBLICATIONS   | ARCHIVES | 

dailynews
 ONLINE


OTHER PUBLICATIONS


OTHER LINKS

Marriage Proposals
Classified
Government Gazette

Filming a mammoth pageant

It has gone down in history as one of the most spectacular religious procession in Asia and indeed the procession has earned the title. Brimming with colour and multifaceted features, the Kandy Esala Perahera is considered as a cultural hallmark of Sri Lanka.

Dancers, drummers, fire jugglers, whip crackers, torch bearers and elegantly decorated elephants make up the grand procession which takes to the streets of Kandy in July annually.

Sudath Mahadiulwewa. Picture by Saman Sri Wedage

Multifaceted features of the pageant

Kandyan dancers add colour to the event

Moving to the drum beats

The most majestic sight of them all, the magnificent tusker parading the golden casket on his back, evokes a sense of wonder and serenity in the viewers.

Filming such a mammoth pageant is no walk in the park. Many crew members from various television channels have captured this pageant each year in the past in whichever manner they believed is best for the mini screen.

However this year Diyawadana Nilame Pradeep Nilanga Dela Bandara decided to hand this mission over to an individual best suited to spearhead the task with a few handpicked cameramen, the cream out of the local television industry.

Renowned filmmaker Sudath Mahadiulwewa led the team. He was invited to take over the project by the Sri Dalada Maligawa Media Unit Director Krishantha Hiswella. The reason behind this move is that whenever the artistes who take part in the process see a camera they pause and begin performing there. Due to this the Perahera drags on for about four hours.

“They were also worried about it affecting the quality of the Perahera. The artistes also get tired when they have to perform vigorously in several places. However the main reason for this is that the Perahera has been captured so far like a news item,” Mahadiulwewa said adding that he studied some of the past Perahera videos before deciding on the best means of filming the event.

“I noticed that the Perahera has been light up too much in the videos. I wanted to show it in the copra lamp light amid the sound of the drum beats. I wanted it to be just as if the viewers are standing by the roadside watching the event. We controlled the lighting above the camera so that it would not be illuminated too much. I also noticed that the previous recordings were overloaded with the narrators’ voices. Though they relating things like their childhood experiences this distracts the viewers from the Perahera. We planned the comments which go with every item and kept the descriptions brief, appealing and to the point. Krishantha Dayananda and Mahinda Kumara Dalupotha took over this chore,” he explained.

The Perahera is the emblem of a rich cultural heritage and there are many significant aspects linked with it. For example the whip crackers lead the procession to announce the start of the procession and to clear the path.

There is a cultural belief attached to this as well. The pageant is a means of evoking rain. The whip crackers signify thunder while the fire dancers symbolize lightening. The elephants represent rain clouds.

“A person watching the Perahera on the road actually sees three angles of the procession. That is the angle in which it is coming towards him or her, crossing over in front of the person and passing him or her. I was intrigued by this especially because camera angles matter a lot in such an event. If the angles are wrong it gives a wrong picture,” he said.

He notes that some elements which have not been captured on camera before have been included in this year's filming. For example they had been able to film the Kavikara Maduwa, a set of people singing to the tooth relic. So far the focus has been solely on the golden casket so the filming teams have miss out on that part.

Mahadiulwewa not only captured the event in the procession but they were able to get a clear soundtrack on what is being sung. They also captured the 10 village Headmen walking in a perfect curve behind the Diyawadana Nileme.

“I have always handled situations in which I was in control. This is the first time I took up an event in which the action is taking place live and is beyond my control. The most challenging part of this is that we ourselves are not the creators of the event. These traditions have existed for many years and it is up to us to capture it in a creative manner,” he said adding that every day the tempo of the Perahera differs, an aspect they noted because they filmed two Peraheras before the last as part of rehearsals.

Ranga Bandaranaike assisted Mahadiulwewa while the team comprised of more than 35 people. Eight cameramen representing nearly all the television channels in the country took part in the project. Vogeshwaran acted as the switcher. For the first time one top angle remote controlled camera was introduced to film a live event in Sri Lanka. This was mainly due to the fact that a human being cannot be on a higher angle than the golden casket. Thus the audience was able to see the manner in which the tusker stood waiting for the white cloth to be laid at his feet before setting foot on the ground.

Mahadiulwewa notes that there was some opposition against him being given the opportunity to handle the task. Some people have gone as far as to question about his experience in handling such a project.

He said, “Working with camera crew for many years I know how to take the upper hand in a situation. True, I had to start from the beginning but I did my homework and prepared myself to take on the challenge.”

He recalled that unexpected events like two elephants dancing to the tempo too were captured on camera. The team managed to include 21 behind-the-scene incidents linked with the customs of the Perahera in the segment.

Before embarking on the project they had a workshop for all those in the team to create awareness about the important aspects linked with the filming. Mahadiulwewa stressed that the Maligawa Media Unit team provided necessary backup to make the filming a success.

“I believe we have set a new trend in which others can follow. The event was distributed to all the channels free of charge. Channels invest a lot of money to cover this event but this time they were able to save that amount as well as get a quality product in return,” he concluded.

 

EMAIL |   PRINTABLE VIEW | FEEDBACK

Millennium City
www.apiwenuwenapi.co.uk
LANKAPUVATH - National News Agency of Sri Lanka
www.army.lk
Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL)
www.news.lk
www.defence.lk
Donate Now | defence.lk

| News | Editorial | Business | Features | Political | Security | Sport | World | Letters | Obituaries |

Produced by Lake House Copyright © 2012 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.

Comments and suggestions to : Web Editor